Chapter 20: The Throne of the Gods

The air was thick with silence. The celestial titans annihilated. The heavens, once an unshakable domain, now trembled.

Kael stood at the center of it all, his silver eyes still burning with power. The gods had tested him. They had sent their champions, their enforcers, and their divine will and yet-‐

He still stood.

The First Sovereign watched him, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The Forgotten Ones Kael's newly gathered warriors were silent, their gazes fixed not on him, but on the sky.

Because they all knew.

This was not the end.

This was only the beginning.

A whisper of divine power still lingered in the air, the Tribunal's presence retreating but not vanishing.

Kael could feel them. Watching. Planning.

"They won't stay silent for long," the First Sovereign muttered.

Kael smirked. "Good. I'd hate for them to make this too easy."

The molten warlord stepped forward, the chains wrapped around his arms glowing. "If we are to strike, it must be soon. They will summon forces beyond what you have faced."

The star-cloaked woman spoke next, her voice like the hum of galaxies. "The Tribunal still holds the Throne of Eternity. As long as they reign from it, their power will remain absolute."

Kael turned his gaze to the sky, eyes narrowing.

"Then we take the throne."

The First Sovereign let out a low chuckle. "A bold claim, but do you know what it requires?"

Kael met his gaze. "Tell me."

The First Sovereign gestured toward the sky, his voice heavy with knowledge that few in existence still possessed.

"The Tribunal sits beyond the Veil of Eternity, a plane untouched by time. To reach it, you must do what no mortal no being has ever succeeded in doing."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

The First Sovereign smirked. "You must rewrite reality itself."

The words hung in the air like an unbreakable decree.

Kael exhaled slowly.

Rewrite reality.

Not merely bending time. Not merely shifting fate. But redefining the very laws that governed existence.

A task that should have been impossible.

But then again Kael had never been bound by what was possible.

The star-cloaked woman stepped forward, the constellations in her robe shifting. "There is only one way to breach the Tribunal's realm."

With a flick of her wrist, the space around them warped.

A massive gate materialized before them a swirling void of stars, shadows, and shifting realities. It was neither open nor closed, existing in a state beyond time.

"The Infinite Gate," the molten warlord whispered.

Kael studied it, his gaze sharp. "And what's the catch?"

The First Sovereign stepped forward. "The Gate only allows passage to those worthy of godhood." His smirk was edged with something almost like admiration. "To step through, you must prove that you are not simply powerful but that you are meant to reign."

Kael's smirk deepened.

"Then let's put it to the test."

The moment Kael took a step forward, the Infinite Gate pulsed.

A voice ancient, deep, and boundless echoed through existence.

"Who dares seek passage to the Throne?"

Kael didn't hesitate.

"Kael, the Sovereign Unchained."

The Gate shuddered. Reality around them bent as if struggling to contain the weight of his words.

Then A figure stepped from the Gate.

Kael stilled.

Because he knew this being.

It was him.

A perfect, mirrored version of himself but with golden eyes instead of silver. An alternate self. A version of Kael that had taken a different path.

The Gate's voice boomed:

"To ascend, you must face the ruler you could have been."

The Golden Kael smirked.

"Let's see if you're worthy of being me."